Hello, my name is Aniyah Shorter-Adams! I am a Creative Writing major with a minor in Theater at Cornell College. I have a passion for both acting and creative writing, and I aspire to build a career that blends both worlds together. Since attending Cornell, I have been able to take many writing and literature classes, like Intro to Creative Writing, Advanced Poetry Writing, and Novel Writing. These classes have furthered my love for writing and literature and helped me find my voice as a writer. In December 2024, I made
my stage debut as Huldey in Cornell’s production of Jen Silverman’s The Moors.
As an actor and a theater minor, I was excited for the opportunity to take the Off-Campus Theater Course trip to New York City. It’s been a life-long dream of mine to visit New York, and since I started pursuing a career in acting, it’s been a dream to move there. Cornell College provided me a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore New York City and see over twenty Broadway and Off-Broadway productions during the two week trip.
My passion for acting lies in the film and television industry, but after the New York trip I am looking at theater through a whole new lens. Much of what I have learned from watching these shows, and from this trip as a whole, has inspired me to pursue more theater. I never planned on pursuing graduate school, but in New York I had the pleasure of meeting people, even some alumni of Cornell, who work on Broadway and thrive in New York. They all have pursued higher education, and my encounters with them have me considering the same.
Ragtime, one of the musicals we watched on Broadway, is a beautifully tragic musical that makes such a poignant commentary on the social, economic, and political status of the
United States of America. It is a play that is still relevant today, considering that the book was written in 1975, the musical premiered in 1996, and the story is set in the early twentieth century. It was the most moving and thought-provoking play I have ever seen, and is definitely one of my favorite shows we got to watch.
I am a really big fan of the Stranger Things series, and I was extremely excited to see Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway. In fact, I give credit to the cast of the television series for inspiring me to pursue a career in acting. I absolutely loved getting to watch this play live on Broadway. One of my favorite parts of the show was the amazing stagecraft, which included double screens and projections, body doubles, lighting and shadows, automated puppets, etc. Additionally, some of my classmates and I stood by the stagedoor after the show to meet the cast and get their autographs, and it was amazing to see how calm and down to earth the cast was after such an emotionally and physically taxing performance, which differs from working on a film set where actors sometimes need lots of time to calm down after hours of shooting difficult scenes.
I think being able to work on the technical aspects of a Broadway production would not only be a lot of responsibility but also very rewarding and fun, especially when working on such a big show like Stranger Things: The First Shadow. I think that can also apply to film as well. I have an interest in working behind the camera as well as acting in front of one. I would love to work on the technical side of a film production, perhaps as the editor, cinematographer, or even Foley artist. As much as I love acting, I don’t want to limit myself to just one role.
Being a part of the Off-Campus New York trip has been a highlight of my academic career. I have learned so much about theater as well as the city that I will definitely carry with me as I take the next steps in pursuing my career as an actor.
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